Kidnapping suspect discharged early from US Marines

BARRON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin man suspected of abducting 13-year-old Jayme Closs washed out of the U.S. Marine Corps after little more than a month.

Jake Thomas Patterson wrote in his high school yearbook that he planned to join the Marines after graduation. But military records show he lasted for only about five weeks before being prematurely discharged in October 2015 at the rank of private.

Marine spokeswoman Yvonne Carlock said by email that Patterson’s early discharge indicated “the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps’ expectations and standards.”

Patterson was charged Monday with kidnapping Jayme and killing her parents in October.